The year is almost half way through. This is what I’ve liked so far (only one song per band)

20. Kurt Vile – Never Run Away

19. Deerhunter – Pensacola

18. Villagers – Earthly Pleasure

17. Waxahatchee – Peace and Quiet

16. Jacco Gardner – Puppets Dangling

15. Steve Mason – A Lot of Love

14. Sons Of Rico – Against the Grain

13. Autre Ne Veut – Play By Play

12. She & Him – I Could’ve Been Your Girl

11. Daft Punk – Doin’ It Right

10. Iron & Wine – Grace For Saints and Ramblers

9. Laura Marling – Master Hunter

8. Phoenix – S.O.S. in Bel Air

7. Chvrches – Recover

6. Justin Timberlake – Mirrors

5. The National – I Should Live In Salt

4. Low – Just Make It Stop

3. Foxygen – On Blue Mountain

The entirety of Foxygen’s We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic is just pure 60s/70’s-pop/rock throwback bliss. This song has a great unpredictable multi-part suite vibe. It’s both aggressively restless and relaxed at the same time, which isn’t an easy mix to create.

2. Young Galaxy – New Summer

Had this song come out during the Australian Spring/Summer and I could lay on the grass in my backyard and let the cool summer breeze gently caress my skin while this beats softly in my ears, then this would take the No. 1 spot. But despite its Southern Hemisphere unseasonability, its still a beautiful song that always brings a smile to face and sends me floating away.

1. Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers

Hanna Hunt is probably the best song on VW’s 3rd album but in terms of pure audible joy and replayability, nothing beats Unbelievers in my book. It’s just a great pop song; a mid tempo ditty that forces me to embarrassingly shake my head and sway to the beat on the bus, as I force myself to not mouth the words.

I’ve also recently been enjoying the new albums from Camera Obscura, Eleanor Friedberger, Portugal. The Man, Kanye West and Sigur Ros, but I haven’t listened quite enough to pull out favourite tracks yet.